Morning journal and courier., 1887-12-12

rect SaT0ty. 1ner0 are two refSOnS TOT LQlb: First, the close watch maintained by the health board over the manufacture and sale of sugared dainties in this city, and second ly, the praiseworthy and determined efforts of the National Confectioners' association to stamp out all forms of adulteration from the business. Between these two agencies the
 unprincipled makers and dealers find it
 pretty difficult, as we'll as dangerous, to foist their stuff on the market. They manage,
 however, to do it occasionally and sometimes with serious results.
 The question is often asked are there no simple tests within the reach of everyone,
 by which dangerous or injurious ingredients
 in candy may be detected? Yes, there are,
 and in an interview on the subject yesterday
 Dr. Edson, who has had years of experience
 in these matters, pointed them out. 'Three
 kinds of adulteration," he said. "are prac- ticed in the manufacture of candy. We may speak of them as bulk, color and flavor
 adulteration. The substances used in place of sugar to increase the weight or bulk are terra-alba, kaolin, whiting, starch and ground quartz Terra alba (hydrated sul- phate of lime) may be detected by burning few of the suspected candies in an iron or other suitable vessel until the sugar is con-
 stunned, and then mixing in tumbler of water the ashes that remain. If white cloudiness ensues after adding little chlo- ride of barium, cheap substance that can be purchased at any drug store, then the
 
 terra-alba. Kaolin and ground quartz may be detected by dissolving the candy in hot water; as the kaolin and quartz are insolu- ble they will settle to the bottom. Whiting, ground chalk, will cause the solution to eff fervesce if @ little acid is added to it. The test for starch is an accurate one. Dissolve @ sweetheart in little cold water and add drop or two of the tincture of iodine: if bluish color is developed starch is present. On this point might say that candy which has undergone adulteration for bulk, though very injurious, cannot in the strict sense of the word be called poisonous.
 "As regards the adulteration practised for color-this is frequently a most dangerous fraud, in consequence of the poisonous pig ments used. Some of the manufacturers whom I detected practising this form of adulteration asserted that the amount of col- or used was so small that it could not possi- bly, be injurious; but this is not true, as is indicated by the eye alone and confirmed by chemical analysis. Preparations of lead, copper, mercury and arsenic are poisons \ such are termed by the medical profession t cumulative in their ef9ct-that is to say they accumulate in the system little by little ' until enough is present to act poisonously. ! Gases are on record of lead-poisoning caused by merely noistening with the tongue waters ! colored with red lead. How much more in- \ furious is confectionery co1ored in like man. \ ner when taken through the stomachl To \ test candy with respect to poisonous colors one needs 8 few ounces of alcohol, about an ' ounce of bleaching soda in solution (hypo- \ chlor1te of calcIum), a little white woolen yarn and 8 small bottle of aqua ammonia. ' See first whether the color can be dissolved \ out by alcohol; if it can immerse the wool | en yarn in the solution, and should the | color adhere to the yarn and dye it the \ probabilities are that it is @ coal-tar col1r; \ if red it may contain arsenic. If the NaJa nhn1 1T1na no affo oJaTo1Hy Of ! the bleaching powder solution to the sur \ face of the sweetmeat; if the color fades ! out it is probably of vegetable origin and harmless.
 "The poisonous color most frequently used | is chrome yellow, compound of chromi- \ um and lead. Its presence may be strong ' ly suspected if the following tests have \ shown that none of the harmless yellows \ have been employed. The harmless yellows ! most commonly employed are turmeric, 8 \ vegetable color made from the root of cer- ' tain herb, fuorescein, coal-tar yellow and a number of vegetable yellows. Turmexic turns red when treated with ammonia. The ! other vegetable yellows fade when treated | with the solution of bleaching powder. To \ detect huorescein dissolve the candy in Q l tumbler of water and view the water in the ! sunlight against a black background. If \ doreseein has been used the green duores- cence will then be seen. When the tumbler
 is held between the eye and the light the color of the water appears yellow. If no re- suits are obtained by any of these tests the ' suspected candy is probably colored by ' chrome yellow and is poisonous. Burnt | umber, an iron-bearing earth frequently used | to adulterate chocolate confeetions, may be detected in this way Dissolve the confec- \ tion in glass of hot water; if brown grit \ ty residue remains undissolved on the bottom ! the presence of the umber is indicated" He could not give, he said, any simple test by which the third class of adulterations I might bs detected. The favoring essences, wintergreen, vanilla and other favors used, are nearly all artifcially made. Some of ! these contain prussic acid and some fusel oil, \ both of which are, as everyone knows, high ly poisonous. The essence of pineapple, ! made by distilling rancid butter, wood alco- hol and oil of vitriol, is also considered in ju rious by good authorities. Almond flavor is said to have caused cases of fatal poisoning from the prussic acid contained in it. However" said the doctor in conclusion, ''I can assure you that there is no candy made or sold by any frst-class dealer in this city that one need fear to eat. The know1- edge of certain detection and conviction will, if nothing else avsils, prevent infractions of the law"
 In this work of supervision the health board has. as stated, the earnest co-opera- ton of the National Confectioners' associa- tion, the president of which, R. H. Moses, of A. Slauson &c Co.,, of Church street, will pay l in behalf of the organization a reward of one hundred dollars to anyone furnishing ev idence that will lead to the conviction of ! persons adulterating confectionery with poi- sonous or injurious substances, the associa- ! tion assuming the cost and responsibility of prosecuting the offender. It would be diff cult to estimate the value of the work al- ready accomplished by this association, which now represents an aggregate capital of from ten to fifteen million dollars. Already l it has succeeded in getting laws against the adulteration of candy passed by the legisla- ture of this State, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Ten l nessee, Massachusetts, Michigan, Illinois, ] Kentucky and Wisconsin, and at present it's executive committee is preparing bill on | the subject to submit to Congress.